Their appearances at the Green Mill Jazz Club and elsewhere built a large and loyal following in Chicago and beyond, the three having achieved a degree of synchronicity and mutual intuitiveness not routinely encountered.

But like many long-running ensembles, Deep Blue eventually disbanded, leaving Broom to put together another band when Steely Dan invited him to serve as opening act for a 2014 tour. Ever since, Broom has been championing his new Organi-Sation, which played the Green Mill Jazz Club successfully last summer and opened a still more impressive four-night engagement Thursday evening at the Jazz Showcase.

In a career spanning three decades, guitarist Bobby Broom has embodied the truism that it’s the player not the tune that makes for a memorable performance in jazz. Performing as a sideman with legendary artists such as Sonny Rollin’s, Miles Davis, Kenny Burrell, Stanley Turrentine and Dr. John, just to name a few, while also constantly touring and recording with his own groups, Broom is always pushing his playing and his concepts to new heights.

Starting tonight (December 3rd) through Sunday (December 6th), he will be performing with his trio at Joe & Wayne Segal’s Jazz Showcase in Chicago. We caught up with him ahead of this weekend’s performances to talk about his life in music, his concepts on playing and what he has in store for the listeners this weekend…

Last summer, Chicago guitarist Bobby Broom put together a new organ trio at the behest of Steely Dan, which wanted an opening act for its “Jamalot Ever After” tour.

Broom obliged, creating his Organi-Sation, a band that put the jazz guitarist in front of Steely Dan’s huge and devoted audience in a whirlwind three months of performances. But that unit – with Ben Paterson at the organ and Kobie Watkins and Makaya McCraven playing drums on varying dates – hasn’t been performing since the Steely Dan tour.

Until Friday night, when Broom reconvened the musicians for a weekend run at the Green Mill, which launched what amounts to the band’s second act: The trio will open for Steely Dan again at Ravinia on Friday and Saturday, with a recording session to follow.

Last summer, Chicago guitarist Bobby Broom put together a new organ trio at the behest of Steely Dan, which wanted an opening act for its “Jamalot Ever After” tour.

Broom obliged, creating his Organi-Sation, a band that put the jazz guitarist in front of Steely Dan’s huge and devoted audience in a whirlwind three months of performances. But that unit – with Ben Paterson at the organ and Kobie Watkins and Makaya McCraven playing drums on varying dates – hasn’t been performing since the Steely Dan tour.

Until Friday night, when Broom reconvened the musicians for a weekend run at the Green Mill, which launched what amounts to the band’s second act: The trio will open for Steely Dan again at Ravinia on Friday and Saturday, with a recording session to follow.

The Organi-Sation, in other words, is back – and it has brought the 1960s and ’70s with it.

JUST ANNOUNCED!The Bobby Broom Organi-Sation will open forSteely Dan at the 2015 Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, Illinois on July 24th and 25th, at 8:00p. Last summer the Organi-Sation opened for the Dan on their Jamalot Tour in 54 cities across North America. One of the major markets not on the tour last year was Chicagoland. More

From Bobby’s opening act, the Bobby Broom Organi-Sation for Steely Dan at the Marymoor Amphitheater in Redmond, Washington. Check Bobby’s Pinterest page for both official and fan photos of Bobby! Have a great shot of Bobby from the show? Pin it!